Cheese Making
How to Make Wensleydale Cheese
Apr
Wensleydale is one of my favourite English cheeses. Hang on, who am I kidding? This cheese is awesome!
You only have to watch a couple of episodes of Wallace and Gromit to figure out that this cheese is definitely worth making. Mind you, it does take quite a while to make. The last time I made this cheese, it took me about 9 hours from pouring the milk into the pot, to the last pressing. Then it was another 12 hours before I removed it from the press, and allowed it to air dry for a few days.
The version in the video tutorial has a layer of dried sage leaves, which gives Wensleydale cheese an extra whack of flavour, however it is equally as good without this added herb.
If you are eager to make Wensleydale cheese, our Hard Cheese Kit contains everything you need (including wax and a brush), and the Cheese Press is essential to form the final cheese.
If you only have a limited data plan and cannot watch the video via YouTube, our Cheese Making DVD Volume 2 also has this tutorial as well as video tutorials for 3 other semi-hard cheeses.
Have fun curd nerds!
I have made 2 Wensleydale Cheeses using Gavin’s recipe from the book, one of them i used dried sage leaves and the other i added penicillium roqueforti after the starter. They look great, i have only vacumed sealed them both as i havent attempted the waxing. Only hope they taste as good as they look.
To Gavin
I don’t know whether you are aproachable or not but I am going to attempt your Wensleydale recipe tomorrow. Since finding your recipe and also your site, I am glad to have found another supplier of ingredients and will be using soon instead of the two others that I found.
Do you have anyone who could tell me how to ‘dry’ newly made cheese better? After the whey stops and as I store in plastic boxes my cheeses stay damp because of the humidity needed.
Would love a quick email answer if there is one?
Mike Preece 13 06 2016
I’m always approachable Mike! Waxing is the best alternative for semi-hard and hard cheeses. It locks in the moisture and keeps out the mould and unwanted bacteria.